The first Windows Phone 7 smartphones came out in the U.S. in November last year, starting with operators including AT&T and T-Mobile that use the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard. Microsoft said it would soon release a version of the operating system for CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) operators, which include Verizon and Sprint.

Sprint started offering the HTC Arrive, which runs Windows Phone 7, in late March.

Verizon continues to officially say that it will offer a Windows smartphone, without specifying a time frame.

Verizon and Microsoft are thought to have a strained relationship since the botched launch of the Kin phones last year. Sales of the phones were reportedly very slow and Microsoft killed off the products in just over two months.